equipment attached to o.r.table to support limbs when prepping limbs for surgery?

Answer 1

Limb prep is one of my pet peeves in the OR. One of the reasons is that if I'm having a limb prepped out, it's not rare that I'm doing a vascular procedure, and this is a type of procedure for which operative infection can be disasterous. There exist several types of limb support devices that look like dennis the menace's sling shot, only about 2 feet taller. We call them "limb props." The problem with these is that they're not sterile, so there is no less work to do if you use them. You still have to prep the limb, lay a sterile field, and then place the limb onto the sterile field. Nurses who use the limb prop have the fantasy that they can put the ankle on the prop and then turn around to grab something with both hands, like a sterile sheet. This typically results in the back of the thigh touching the bed. I don't accept this.

In my OR, a limb prep requires two people, the circulator and the scrub tech who is already scrubbed in. The circulator FIRST does a PERFECT job of mechanically cleaning the limb. NO SKIN FLAKES or CRUD remains. Then they put on sterile gloves and begin at the digits. Once the digits are sterile, they can be used to lift the rest of the limb and do a complete circumfrential prep. The scrub slides a half sheet under the limb, and then we drape with split sheets. I have the whole limb prepped circumfrentially every time, even if the surgical site is small. If we have to roll the limb around, I don't want to EVER see unprepped skin.

Answer 2

Umm, we would just call them limb supports.....or arm board, leg board, etc.